December Falls
by charlotteprentiss
Summary: Ambassador Prentiss is holding her annual festive ball. Emily is in attendance with Hotch- what happens next?
1. Chapter 1

Emily forced her desk drawer open and rummaged around for the invite. She knew perfectly well that her mother would ring yet again if she didn't RSVP before the end of the day.

'_Ambassador Prentiss' Festive Ball  
>E Prentiss &amp; Guest<br>3280 Constitution Avenue,  
>Washington DC.<br>Friday December 23__rd__ 2011  
>Black tie event'<em>

The minimalistic invite was everything Elizabeth Prentiss wasn't. Emily pulled the invite out and laid it on the table. The idea of seeing her mother for the first time in months made her feel sick; coupled with the fact that many prestigious men and women would be in attendance only added to her nerves. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark figure appear behind the glass doors.

'Hotch!' He flinched and turned to face her. Knowing that there was no going back, she picked herself and the invite up and made her way over to the doors. 'You got a sec?'

He looked down at his watch and then across to her hand holding the invite which was beginning to shake. 'Is that for me?' He asked as he signalled towards the piece of card.

She hesitated. 'Uh no... Can I ask you something?' She moved the invite to behind her back so that he wouldn't get distracted and nervously carried on, not waiting for a response. 'My mother is having one of those pretentious formal events and I've got to go. Would you mind going as my plus one?'

He laughed at her evaluation of the event. 'Pretentious, huh? I'd love to go... when is it?' Emily didn't know whether he was being amusingly sarcastic or truthful; she noticed that he only did it when the rest of the team weren't around and regardless of the tone, she indulged in his presence.

'December 23rd... It's ok if you can't, I mean, you have Jack and everything...'

He smiled at how considerate she was. 'He's at Jessica's that Friday so I know I'll be able to make it. I look forward to it...' She breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he firmly placed his hand on her shoulder and turned to get in the elevator behind them. 'Are you coming? Or should I go?'

Looking over to the small pile of paperwork at her desk, she grabbed her coat and bag and joined her superior in the elevator.

The awkwardness radiated from her core; _how do you carry on from that? He agreed and then touched her shoulder. It was all over rather quickly. _Emily realised that he would be able to read her like her book as she oozed with confusion, fear and excitement.

'Having a friendly face there will be helpful...' she murmured.  
><em>Helpful? Did she actually just say that? Helpful.<em>

'I actually quite like going to those types of events...' he mumbled back. Not wanting to sound incredibly boring he spoke up again. 'You know, because, we don't get much time off... any time socialising is good enough for me...' He threw his head back in embarrassment, he meant it in a joking way, not an 'I'm-desperate-for-socialisation-so-I'm-settling-for-this' kind of way.

The elevator jolted and the doors opened at cold, concrete parking bays.

'See you' he shouted as he quickly hurried off to his car, trying to escape the freezing air as quickly as possible.

'Yeah, see...' she trailed off as she heard his car engine rumble; he couldn't hear her.

She took a moment to dwell over the awkwardness that encapsulated them while in the elevator shaft. Never before had she felt a tense, questionable atmosphere between them, but putting it down to her nervousness and they way that nobody was able to read his behaviour, she too blipped the car doors open and revved the engine.

* * *

><p>At her apartment she poured the last of the stir-fry onto her plate and listened as her phone blared out the dialling tone over the loudspeaker.<p>

'_Hello; Prentiss residence, Elizabeth Prentiss speaking...'_

Emily stabbed at the bean sprouts and pulled the phone closer. 'Hi mom, it's Emily...'

'_Oh darling, how nice to hear from you... Should I be expecting you on the 23__rd__?'_

_Of course; how typical. No time for chit-chat. Straight to the point: almost-brutal. _'Yes mother...'

'_...and will you be bringing a guest?'_

'Yes mother...' Emily felt like she was repeating the mantra she learned as a teenager; deceit and allegiance all rolled into one.

'_Good. I look forward to meeting your new man.' _Emily choked on a noodle. _New man? 'Oh dear Emily, are you eating? I told you when you were four and I will tell you now when you're forty, chew your food properly.'_

Trying to remain her composure Emily brought the phone even closer but only silence was emitted from the speaker. '...Mother?'

'_Yes Emily?'_

'The guy-'

'_Sorry darling, must go. Thank you for calling.'_ The line cut dead. Mortified by her mother's mentioning of a 'new man', she quickly ate her dinner and went off to her bedroom to drown her embarrassment in wine.

'_Mrs Emily Hotchner'_ Emily mocked in front of her bathroom mirror as she envisaged her mother's reaction to seeing her 'new man'. _At which point would she reveal to her mother that her boss is nothing more than her boss? Or wouldn't she? After all she wasn't the one who conjured up the idea of actually dating her plus one- but then again she never denied it either. She didn't have time- of course she could deny it, she just didn't have time. _

Trying to assure herself that she would, albeit possibly even at the last second tell her mother, she necked the last of the bottle off and turned the lights off.


	2. Chapter 2

'Ahh! Miss Prentiss! I was wondering when I'd be seeing you around here...'

Emily turned around slowly trying not to lose any of the tissues which were bunched up in her pockets. 'Am I late?'

'You're always early; missed you. That's all!' Garcia vanished as quickly as she had appeared.

JJ quickly replaced her, hurrying to catch up with Emily. 'You too, huh?' Emily waved a sodden tissue before her. 'Will has had flu but unfortunately Henry hasn't caught anything yet.'

'Unfortunately?' Emily questioned. _Weren't mothers supposed to be extremely anti-bacterial and carry hand wipes everywhere they went?_

JJ smiled a crooked smile. 'It's the big C-day in three weeks! I'd rather Henry be ill now rather on the day. It's his fourth Christmas but this year should be extra special- we're trying to find somebody to dress up as Santa for him to make it just that little bit better...' Emily nodded without taking any information in. 'You can buy lollies infected with the chicken pox virus but even I knew that is too far. I'd rather take it as it comes, y'know?'

Emily nodded once more before collapsing into her chair and sprawling an eternity of tissues and toilet roll onto the table. 'Why am I so ill?' she moaned.

'Well, you're ill because a virus or...' Reid stopped talking immediately. 'Never mind... I hope you feel better soon.' All JJ had to do was give the signal and he would become mute.

'You'd think the almost-30 year old child genius would recognise when somebody was asking a rhetorical question...' JJ muttered as soon as Reid was out of ear-shot. 'Hey! What's this?'

Emily shot up as soon as she realised JJ was heading towards the invite which was camouflaged within the tissues. As the ache in her muscles intensified she slowly retreated back to the comfortable position; scrunched up in her chair. 'Please?'

Too late; JJ was already dictating the card to the entire bullpen and anyone else who would listen. 'Oh la la... _and guest_. Who's going with you? Morgan? Rossi?'

Emily snatched the invite back and shoved it into her coat pocket. 'Does it matter?'

Rossi and Morgan appeared from the lift bearing hot drinks from the questionable cafeteria on the third floor. 'Guys, do you know who Emily is going with to her mother's fundraiser?'

The men donned a perplexed glaze across their faces. 'Should we?' Morgan questioned. 'Is it Anderson?'

JJ looked over to Emily to see if she was giving anything away but her head remained buried within the tissues. 'It's not Anderson, Morgan, Rossi, Reid, Lynch or Mick-flaming-Rawson for that matter.' Emily said through the layers of tissues.

Rossi lifted an eyebrow and gave his signature '_I-have-an-idea'_ look. 'Hotch'!

Aaron Hotchner appeared on the platform in the doorway of his office. 'Yes?'

The team swirled around to view their unit chief who was casually flicking though a brown case file; un-phased by his named being shouted by a fellow agent.

'By any chance do you know who our very fine Miss Prentiss is going to her mother's fundraiser with?' Rossi took a shot, not expecting a reply of any use.

Hotch took a second to look up from the file and observed JJ, Rossi and Morgan passing looks between himself and Emily who was still sprawled out across the desk. 'Yes' he replied. 'She going with me.'

Garcia's lair was looking particularly brighter than usual and Emily dared to venture inside.

'Any more tissues?' She asked as she tried to avoid wiping her nose on her hand.

'Here!' Garcia threw the box over her shoulder, hoping it would reach her co-worker.

'Thanks' Emily muttered as she peered over the leather chair, trying to see what the technical genius doing during her lunch break. 'Is that The Sims? Man, I haven't played that in years!'

'Sure is!' Garcia squealed in her element. 'Looks amazing on my new 17" LCD screen."

Emily laughed. 'So who's that then?' She pointed at the lanky looking Sim who was dawdling next to the book case.

'That, my feline friend, is our very own Doctor Spencer Reid.'

'And that?' Emily pointed to another figure who had appeared in the corner of the screen.

'Ah well Miss Prentiss...' Garcia zoomed in on the Sim. '...that, is you.'

Emily tilted her head on an angle. 'Why am I walking like... like a penguin?'

Garcia giggled and zoomed further. 'You're expecting a little Sim baby' she cooed.

JJ appeared in the doorway. 'I see you've seen our little creation...'

Emily shot around and glared at the blonde staring in on them. 'You're behind this?' She growled before going off on a tangent. 'This isn't a big deal!' She tried to convince herself. 'Hotch is a family friend... and within 4 hours of arriving at work and people finding out he's coming with me to my mother's fundraiser you lot have already created us a little family.'

Garcia burst out into a fit of hysterics shortly followed by Emily who couldn't even keep a straight face after seeing Reid's Sim jump into a trash can.

'So you're not mad?' JJ questioned.

'Mad? Well I don't appreciated being virtually impregnated but seeing that version of Reid has made my day!'

Garcia pushed her glasses up to the top of her nose and smiled at her colleagues.

'So, what else can they do?'


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who has subscribed to this story and a quick apology for not updating since last month (school work had the better of me). As always I appreciate every response I get and I am more than willing to take on suggestions for what you'd like to see!**

**Also, I've been having a few problems making edits to chapter 2 so apologies to those who noticed the grammatical errors there (if any of you did!).**

* * *

><p>'I'm much preferring my Sim life right now' Emily moaned as she crossed off another day on her calendar. <em>11 days to go.<em>

JJ laughed as she shuffled some of the papers on Reid's desk into a neater pile. 'Mother troubles?'

'Urgh.' Emily grunted. 'Throughout my teenage years and my twenties I longed for the moment when she stopped calling me, checking up on my 'activities', but now she never calls!'

'And that's a problem?' JJ asked bewildered.

'Well, yes! She thinks-'Emily stopped midsentence, acknowledging where this conversation may go. Just weeks earlier she had said nothing, and had a virtual family created before her eyes; her, Hotch, Jack, their alien baby, three cats, a goldfish and she was working as a papergirl while Hotch was an international superstar. '-Well, she thinks… somehow, well… somehow she has come to the conclusion that Hotch is my _'new man'_.'

JJ's mouth dropped. Thank god for doughnuts courtesy of Strauss that had kept the rest of the agents preoccupied on the other side of the building while Emily confessed all to her best friend. 'You're dating Hotch?' JJ blurted out.

'What?' Emily freaked out. 'No!' She opened a packet of dried fruits and began to nibble. 'I was casually telling her I would be coming and one thing lead to another and she suddenly came to the conclusion that I was dating my date.'

JJ smiled. 'Well, that's normally how it works.'

'It was all over quickly. She didn't even know it was Hotch! Oh man, I really need to tell her.' Emily stuttered. 'I haven't even bought my gown yet!'

* * *

><p>'How about this one?' Garcia pulled out an oriental-looking sleek dress.<p>

'Too lacy.' Emily replied.

'Oh come on… This one? It has to be this one!' Garcia shoved a black panel dress with silver embroidery before her.

'Yea-' Emily trailed off as she saw a teenager emerge from the dressing room wearing the same dress that Garcia was holding. '-ahh, no. It's too… tight!'

'These?' JJ shoved a series of dark coloured skater dresses in front of her.

Emily reached out and opened her mouth in amazement, miming groping at the fabric. Her inner gothic rebel longed to wear it; but in reality, her mother would find every fault in it. The cut was probably a bit too high for the sophisticated men who dominated such events; they would most definitely spend the night gawping at her elongated legs. 'Too… too gothic!'

Garcia raised an eyebrow and pushed her glasses further up her nose. 'I never thought I'd hear that coming from you, Miss Prentiss.'

'Don't you mean Mrs Hotchner?' JJ butted in, causing the two blondes to erupt into a fit of laughter.

'Hilarious.' Emily snarled. 'Absolutely hilarious.' She began to wonder behind the racks of clothing, leaving her co-workers giggling at their latest joke.

'Maybe we should give it a rest?' JJ suggested looking over at Emily pondering the aisles alone.

'Never!' Garcia protested. 'Shall we go help her? I need to get back to my little Kev-bunny.'

JJ and Garcia followed Emily around aimlessly as she looked over the clothes, looking at some articles with the same level of disgust she has on her face as she holds a gun to an un-subs chest, waiting for somebody to pounce. 'How about this?'

JJ and Garcia swivelled in opposite directions to look at the dress that Emily was holding above her head. 'It's..' Garcia stuttered.

'Amazing.' JJ finished. 'Try it on, it would suit you! I'll try it on too!' She whizzed through the rack and grabbed Emily's hand, dragging her to the changing room.

'I'll just wait here' Garcia called as she text her boyfriend for the millionth time since leaving the BAU offices at Quantico. 'Not long now my Kevvy-wevvy…' she gleefully muttered under her voice.

The lock on the doors rattled in sync and JJ and Emily emerged from their respective cubicles. 'Wow Em, It's amazing.' JJ said looking her friend up and down.

'Really? You think?' Emily said running her fingers from her ribs, down her torso and as far down her thighs as her hands could reach.

She stood before the mirror in the strapless dress. Light pink silk beneath, entirely covered in a tight black net which complimented it perfectly. A band drew in just below her bust and created the perfect shape to show off her figure.

'E! You look like Christmas candy!'

Emily cracked a smile and flicked her hair over her shoulders. 'Looks good on you too Jay!'

JJ swiftly turned on her side. 'I look preg-o! Definitely more flattering on you!'

'Awww my fabulous babies' Garcia squealed as she grabbed her friends by their waists and pulled them in for a photo.

'Shall I get it then?' Emily questioned.

'You'd be stupid not to!' JJ exclaimed as she ran out of the dressing rooms still in her dress to find some matching jewellery.

Emily turned back to the mirror and caressed the dress once more. 'So Garce, what's with the extra load of Garcia today? Kevvy-wevvy? Kev-bunny? Christmas candy? Babies?'

'Oh hun'' Garcia said stroking Emily's hair softly. 'You really don't want to know!'

'You know what Pen, I probably don't…'

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	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Yet another apology! I really had hoped to update this so that reality ran along perfectly with the story and the dates coincided, however, it was never meant to be and once more I have become preoccupied! Sorry!**

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><p>Emily tugged at the corner of the card invite, trying to iron out the creases with her thumb.<p>

'_Hello? Hello?' _

'Hotch?' She had forgotten that she was ringing him and the balanced bleeping of the telephone had become almost smoothing, she felt her eyes close in hypnosis before being interrupted by the muffled voice. 'Hey, Hotch. I was just wondering if you're still ok to pick me up later? If you want I can drive over and leave my car? Or..'

'_No, everything's fine, I'll be there at six thirty -prompt.'_

She felt a wave of excitement overcome her as she thought about the impending night. 'Ok, Hotch. I'll see you then...'

The phone line muffled and Emily could vaguely make out her superior shouting good-bye to his son. _'Bye Emily...' _He trailed off unenthusiastically, preoccupied with other things.

The short-lived conversation gave Emily chills as she questioned why she was so excited. It wasn't the fact that she would be seeing her parents again, nor was it the fact that she had spent a little fortune on a dress. And there was no way she was accepting that it was because she had a crush on her boss. She must, for once, be getting into the Christmas spirit.

* * *

><p>Six fifteen. Emily ran about in a daze trying to find the new pair of earrings which JJ had so kindly found for her. Five minutes until he was early, ten until he was on time, and fifteen until he was late. She knew she could count on Aaron Hotchner to be early. Regardless of what he said, six thirty <em>prompt, <em>would be six twenty five or sooner.

Within seconds of working out approximately how long it would take him to pull up outside, she heard the ever-so familiar engine of the SUV and the click of the door signifying Aaron Hotchner's arrival.

He knocked on the door. Struggling to remain composed, she made her way down the stairs; the ringlet curls remaining tight for that little bit longer so they drop and look perfect when she sees he imperfect mother, the necklace slowly edging its way from the dead centre of her chest and her great-grandmother's ring gradually working itself over her knuckle.

'You look-'Emily blushed as she welcomed him inside, noticing that his outfit was slightly incomplete. 'Amazing.'

'You don't look too bad yourself' she joked, as they stood like awkward teenagers in her hallway.

'Would you mind?' he asked, handing out a silk handkerchief: the missing part of the puzzle. 'JJ said it was the perfect colour, she bought it. I just can't get it to look right.'

Emily looked down at the dark silver piece of silk, trying to fold it tactfully so that the peaks rose in the right places before passing it back to him. 'She was right' she quietly muttered beneath her breath.

* * *

><p>'Do you know who is going to be here?' Hotch asked as he turned the heating up in the car.<p>

Emily mumbled as she thought. 'Me, you, my mother and father, Strauss could very well be there and many more FBI personnel, Senator Cramer and the majority of the ambassadors who are not preoccupied with duties.'

'Cramer?' he grumbled.

' Yeah... My father and him go way back, apparently he didn't realise who he was dealing with at the trial, otherwise...'

'We needn't get into it' he passed off, as light-heartedly as possible.

Emily smiled and sighed loudly. No need to remember the _traumatic _events of four months ago. 'Of course...' Once again she began to fiddle with her great-grandmother's ring, passing it from finger to finger trying to find the perfect fit.

'What's that?' Hotch asked as he tried to momentarily detract his attention from the road ahead.

'Just a family ring which I thought complimented the dress; I just can't get it to fit properly.' She tugged at it once more and placed it in the empty cup holder for safe keeping.

'Hold up.' He stated as the car came to a halt at the intersection. 'Pass it here.' Emily fished it out of the holder and placed it in his palm. 'Your hand, Miss Prentiss...' She placed her right hand on the dashboard for balance and watched as he gently placed the ring over each finger, trying to find the perfect fit. 'Other hand?' he gestured.

Moving her left hand in front of her and replacing it on the dashboard, she watched as he once again hovered at the nail of each finger, sizing it up perfectly. He slid it down her ring finger and gently turned it so that the diamond was at a perfect ninety degree angle to her hand.

'Hotch' she said quickly. 'Eager to marry me off?'

He looked back down at her hand before flicking his eyes to the lights above the car which seemed to remain fixed on red. 'It wouldn't be too bad to be married to me for a night, would it? Anyway, call me Aaron.'

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	5. Chapter 5

The hall was grand, nothing less than expected for Elizabeth Prentiss. Emily walked, arm hooked into her superior's elbow, up the central staircase to where her mother and father stood.

'Mrs Prentiss' Aaron Hotchner spoke softly. 'It's a lovely function you have here, I'm honoured.'

Mrs Prentiss' face became tampered with a faint gleam of confusion. 'Mr… Hotchner? My, I haven't seen you since…' She paused while she tried to recall the last time she had met him. 'Well, it has been a while, hasn't it? I'm glad you're here. Please, take a drink and take a look around. The charity auction starts at nine.' She gently patted his back and encouraged him to move on, leaving her daughter vulnerable and subject to scrutiny. 'Emily, a word?' She casually guided her daughter to behind the podium where she stood greeting her guests and raised an eyebrow in disapproval. 'Your boss? Honestly Emily, I thought we had rid of your rebellious ways once we moved back to America and you were with more people your own age. Some things never change.'

'Mother' Emily protested. 'It's not like that.'

'I must go Emily, but please, do not show me up tonight.'

Emily was left behind the dusty curtain, alone. Just like the times growing up, her mother would scrutinise her every action, picking at each minute detail until the truth no longer existed and she had constructed her own version of reality. It was times like this which made her question why she had not cut all ties completely.

* * *

><p>'About time.' Hotch said monotonously.<p>

'Sorry, yet again my mother found something to criticise. Something created in her head, non-existent, of course.'

'And what was that?' he questioned, as he scanned the room, occasionally sipping at the brown liquid which half-filled the glass in his hand.

'She thinks we're an item- or something…' she trailed off as she too scanned the room and saw a bald, plump man approaching from the other side of the room. 'Great' she muttered.

'Who is it?' Aaron asked.

'Mervin Blackwell.' Emily said with disgust. 'He worked as an advisory while my mother was on assignment in Italy. All the kids called him Merv the perv. Quite rightly too.'

'Great' he mimicked, knocking back the last of the liquid as the man stood feet away.

'Blackwell, Mervin. Nice too meet you. And you are?'

'Aaron Hotchner, unit chief at the FBI's behavioural analysis unit.' He replied politely.

'Of course…' he murmured, I'm familiar with you work. 'Doyle? That was a big case, wasn't it? Not too sure of the logistics but…'

Aaron could sense Emily becoming more unsettled with the situation and promptly butted in. 'This here is Emily-'

'…Prentiss' Mervin mumbled. 'I was hoping I'd see you here and boy, I wasn't disappointed, you've grown into a fine woman.' He winked slowly before eying her up and down.

Hotch's jaw tightened at the disrespect oozing from every pore in Mervin Blackwell's body. 'We better be going.' He slowly placed his arm over Emily's shoulder and manoeuvred her around so that they were facing the opposite direction. 'Disrespectful asshole' he muttered, quietly enough not to cause a commotion but loud enough for the right people to hear.

'Miss Prentiss' he said spiking up, provoking Emily to quickly turn around. 'Congratulations…'

'Ugh' Emily spat. 'What was that about?'

Aaron slowly tilted his head and watched the fat man toddle off to another group of people. 'I honestly don't know. And I don't want to either.'

'_Charity auction begins in 2 minutes!_' Mr Prentiss declared over the sound system, as he watched the people hurry into the smaller function room.

'Shall we go?' Emily asked, evidentially bored out of her brain by the repetitive greeting, friendly chit-chat and small talk cycle.

'Why not, maybe we can get a date for Reid, or is this place too _'proper'_ for that?' he joked.

'Time and place, Mr Hotchner.' She joked back, once more indulging in his presence and questionable joking-come-flirting.

'_First auction; a date for two at 'Raphael's'' _

Aarons arm gently rose and a flick of his wrist signified the beginning of the bids. Another flick. And another. And Another.'

'_Thank you Mr Hotchner, a price of $290 for a date at 'Raphael's'. Next auction…'_

'You're mad.' Emily muttered. 'How are you going to persuade Reid to go to Raphael's?'

'I heard he wants a new gun. Everything has a price.' He joked once more as he walked over to the stand to collect his tickets for the posh restaurant.

'A romantic date for Reid and… I hear agent Gonzalez is recently single, how about we do some match-making?'

'I was thinking more along the lines of Reid and Morgan, will give JJ and Garcia something to gossip about, and if all else fails we could go…'

'Us, Hotch?' Emily pessimistically questioned, in fear that through a series of innocent events she would fall madly, deeply in love with her superior.

'Why not?' he questioned light heartedly.

'No reason…' she mumbled. 'Just doesn't need Strauss going over the rules of dating co-workers. You know how she gets…'

'Speaking of Strauss, she's there.' He slyly pointed Emily in her direction before once again gracefully moving her in the opposite direction. 'We don't need her getting the wrong idea.'


	6. Chapter 6

'Hold up, hold up!' Derek Morgan spluttered out, being careful enough not to spill his coffee down his new jeans, 'you're telling me that Strauss saw _you_ and_ Hotch_ at your mother's charity ball and assumed you were breaking anti-fraternisation rules?'

Emily pursed her lips, closed her eyes and slowly nodded. 'Mmmhmm…' she murmured. 'And…'

'Oh princess, there's _an __**and**_?' He questioned, raising an eyebrow so that his forehead became deeply wrinkled.

'And' she emphasised, taking her time to build the tension. 'She congratulated us. _**And**_…' She said once more. 'She wished us the best of luck…'

Derek burst out laughing, unable to retain his disbelief and the sheer humiliation which radiated from Emily's being. 'Oh princess, princess, princess… This is what I call entertainment.' He shook his head once more, as if trying to be able shake the thought of his superior hooking up with his partner out of his mind. 'She had no problem? At all?'

Emily repeated her earlier action of pursing her lips together, closing her eyes but nodded to answer his question. 'No problem' she murmured. 'She actually…' Prentiss leaned in closer. 'Once she was a little _drunk_, well, she…' Emily looked around to who could potentially overhear. 'She asked why it hadn't happened sooner!'

That was it. Derek Morgan had heard it all. He spun around in his chair and threw his head into his hands, trying to hold back the tears of laughter which were streaming down his face.

'What did I miss?' Reid pleaded as he saw Derek in hysterics and Emily moodily slumped on her desk.

'Oh nothing…' Derek joked, encouraging Reid to ask more questions.

'Nothing.' Emily confirmed in a tone unfamiliar to the youngest profiler.

'You do suit… You and Hotch, I could see it working…' JJ quietly said as she swirled the spoon in her coffee.

Emily placed her mug on the table and smiled. 'What else have you said that about? Mick Rawson? Me having kids? I think you even said it about me and Reid!'

'But you and Hotch, it's different.'

'Different as in you and Will, _'forever together'_ or different as in… just plain weird?' Emily questioned.

'You're on the same level, you both have been through so much, and you understand each other.'

Emily sipped from her herbal tea before being interrupted by her phone ringing in her bag. She reached in, saw the caller ID and subtly rejected the call and placed it back into her bag.

'Was that him?' JJ questioned, eyeing Emily's handbag which was slumped underneath the table.

'Who?' Emily questioned, genuinely confused.

'The guy who is keeping you from your knight in shining armour.'

'Wha- Who?' She questioned again.

'Was that Hotch?' JJ persisted.

'No! Of course not!' Emily insisted. 'It's after hours! I think he's busy this weekend, got to plan Jack's party…'

'He's your Knight' JJ teased.

Emily sat unimpressed. 'No. Just no.'

'I think it, Garcia thinks it-'

'You guys would. Anything remotely saucy and you're worse than a cougar at a frat party!'

She continued. 'Morgan thinks it, Rossi thinks you both need some _action_' JJ winked. '_And I'm not talking on cases_… Strauss; even she thinks it.'

Emily remained unimpressed and resorted to changing the subject. 'Anyway, do you need another drink? Perhaps a de-caff? No need to fuel your imagination anymore.

Emily's phone rang out once more, this time in the comfort of her own home. 'Hey you…' she answered, smiling to herself.

'_What happened earlier?'_ A stern voice replied.

'JJ. She-'

'_Right. No need to explain… How are you?'_

'I'm… perfectly content.'

'_I can't wait to see you tomorrow, I've missed you so much.'_

'Hotch' laughed.

'_Aaron.'_

'Aaron, you haven't seen me in… what, four hours? I'm sure you can tide yourself over for a while?' Emily felt mischievous as she taunted her new flame over the phone.

'_I'd rather you be with me.'_

'Of course, tomorrow. Once we've sorted Jack's party?'

'_I'll be waiting. Every single inch of me.'_

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><p><strong>AN: Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has subscribed and reviewed. I am ending this here, however there may be a sequel!**


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